Various devices and constructions have been devised heretofore to keep the pierced earring releasably attached to the earlobe. One known arrangement is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,643, in which a pin is protrudingly set in the back of an earring body of a decorative nature, with the provision of a bearing thereunder to stop a clip with a shaft, the clip being urged to rotate beyond the pin in the direction of the earring body.
Another prior art arrangement to which this invention pertains is found in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 7-289318, in which elasticity is conferred on a ring-shape structure comprising an earring body and a pin protrudingly set in the back of the earring body with a tip thereof bent upward, a hook held by a shaft on the underside of the earring body, and the hook being made to engage on the tip of the pin by pushing the ring-like structure and thus 1 contracting the diameter thereof.
However, in the former case of the above-mentioned earring body of the decorative nature, wherein the pin is protrudingly set in the back thereof, the bearing provided on the underside thereof to stop the clip with the shaft, the clip being urged to rotate beyond the pin in the direction of the earring body, when a force to open the clip is applied, the clip simply opens up, thereby making it impossible to stop the clip from slipping off.
Moreover, there is a problem of durability in that the pin set protrudingly in the back of the earring body is fixed by brazing, so that the pin tends to break or bend during use.
In the latter arrangement, wherein elasticity is endowed on the ring-like structure comprising the earring body and the pin with the hook being held by the shaft on the underside of the earring body, the hook being made to engage on the tip of the pin by pressing the ring-like structure and thus 1 contracting the diameter thereof, a problem exists the because the material and structure of the earring body provide are thereby self-imposed. Moreover, the need to press the ring-like structure and to contract the diameter thereof makes it difficult to carry out the operation of engaging or disengaging the hook on or from the tip of the pin.
The present invention is directed to eliminating these drawbacks described above and an object of the present invention is to provide a pierced earring which can securely keep the earring from falling off a hole in the pierced ear lobe once it is attached thereto inasmuch as a clasp will not open easily from a pin of the earring body.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pierced earring which is not subject to any constraint on the material and structure of the earring body, thereby facilitating the attaching and detaching operations of the clasp to or from the earring body.